I Love You, Always
by AZ1087653
Summary: The smarmy jerk had sent him flowers…at his place of work no less! What was the man trying to do, get them both fired!


Good early morning, in my case at least, to anyone who graces this story with their presence. Thank you for taking the time to read. I figured that as I have written a few for Junjou Romantica I should try my hand at Sekaiichi Hatsukoi since Sensei wrote both.

~Usual disclaimer~ Since it is usual I don't think it's necessary to claim it.

This story is un-beta-ed (as are most of the stories I post) because of pure laziness. I will fix anything that someone finds though.

/GG/

I Love You, Always

Pristine mornings are generally a site for sore eyes for those who are going through a week or so of hell. Any morning following said week of hell is generally pristine, even if it's snowing, below zero, and there's a wind chill factor with enough bite to freeze the fluid in a person's eyes. At least for a week or so that is, and then things turn back into normal.

Not so on _that_ morning. Never had the man woken to such a pristine morning in his life. So perfect was it, in fact, that it would have been perfect for the opening scene in a musical. The sky was the most brilliant shade of blue with just a smattering of white clouds. The sun was shining, but was slightly covered so it wasn't too hot.

In other words, it was the morning that usually followed when the lovers of a story had been wrapped up in a wonderful night of sex the prior night. Onodera hadn't had sex the night before; for which he was truly grateful. Takano had been at work trying to fix a printing mistake, so the slightly older man had not walked home with his subordinate.

Many a day Onodera had planned to tell Takano off about dating subordinates, but every time he thought about it the little voice in his head reminded him that the crazy loon wouldn't care about the ethics of their situation. Then said man would follow Onodera home and proceed to seduce him, which would work, and the two would end up in bed together. The younger man would complain, tell him no half-heartedly, and still enjoy it like he usually did.

Onodera would never admit this to anyone, including a priest at confession, but there were nights when he missed Takano holding him close. The feel of his superior's heartbeat against his back was like the heartbeat a baby learned to live with while still in the womb. Once that heartbeat was gone it felt like something was missing.

Still, the day was so perfect, Onodera Ritsu didn't want to think about anything. The morning would have been perfect if it had lasted forever and the man didn't have to go in to work. Wishful thinking wasn't his strong point though, so he still found himself trudging into the building and into the elevator that would eventually deliver him to his final destination; the shojo manga editing department.

For being in the middle of a cycle, Ritsu was actually surprised to see he was the last of the group to show up. The second thing that caught his eye was a huge bouquet of roses in a pink vase sitting on his desk. He eyed the flowers for a second and then shot Takano a glare before grabbing the card and reading it to himself, while everyone else watched him of course.

_I love you, always!_

There wasn't a name attached to the flowers, so immediately the man knew he was right in aiming Takano with a death glare. The smarmy bastard had sent him flowers…at his fucking place of work no less! What was the man trying to do, get them both fired!

For a fraction of a second he thought about making a big spectacle of throwing them into the nearest rubbish bin, but part of him was actually flattered his 'lover' had gone out of his way to send him something. So instead the flowers were pushed to the side of the already crowded desk and Onodera sat down in his chair with a huff. He didn't get very far into his pile of work before Kisa spoke.

"So Ri-chan, who are they from or do you have a secret admirer?" The older man smirked and winked at the younger.

"There is no name on the card, but I have a feeling I know the idiot who sent them." Onodera mumbled in embarrassment; face turning a lovely shade of pastel pink.

"Really? Spill!" Kisa said with a grin, leaning closer to Ritsu's desk. The other three turned to look as well. "What does it say?"

"Let's just forget about it." Speaking about the card or the flowers would just have made the man feel even more mortified that he already felt. With this he tried to get back to work. Didn't happen though. Ritsu missed the movement and the noise, but he was fully aware of Takano standing behind him and ripping the card from the bouquet.

"I love you, always." The man's baritone voice resonated through the area. The scowl could be heard in the man's voice without having to see his face. Ritsu didn't even have a chance to respond before Kisa started speaking again.

"Awwwww, Ri-chan! That's so cute. Is it that girl who has called you a few times?"

"No!" Onodera said as he snatched the card back from Takano. "And anyway, she has more tact then to send me something like this at work." At least Ritsu hoped she did.

Takano took the card back, easily, and waved it in the air. "Then who sent you this, Onodera."

"As if you don't know!" He whispered with a hiss before saying loudly, "Takano-san, that is mine."

"It sounds as if you don't want it, Onodera. Maybe I should keep it for you?" The man kept a poker face, just raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"I never said I didn't want it, so give it back."

The two had a staring match, while an amused Kisa looked on, for about two seconds before Takano walked off to his desk, grabbed a few manila envelopes and started off again.

"I'm heading down to sales; if you need me send me a text." The chief stated as if nothing was bothering him. He left a flustered Ritsu, and amused Kisa, an indifferent Hatori, and a smiling Mino in his wake.

The man wasn't gone long before Kisa spoke up with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I'm not completely sure, but I think he just walked out of here with your card, Ri-chan."

Onodera took one look at Takano's desk from his vantage point and saw that his card was not on the pile of rubble that covered his superior's desk. Without a second thought or glance, Ritsu tore after his boss with a look of vengeance in his eyes. How dare the man play innocent and then walk off without so much as a by your leave.

Ritsu was lucky enough to corner Takano at the elevator. He glared at the man who in turn ignored his subordinate. This only annoyed Onodera further as each passing second the older man didn't say a work.

When the elevator door opened and no one was inside, Takano pulled his junior into the small room, let the door shut, and then stopped the car. He pushed the startled man against the back of the elevator and pressed his lips onto the others with a guttural moan. Onodera could feel Takano start to massage his nether region with his knee.

Ritsu pushed back and got enough air to speak, "Takano…," but he couldn't get more out before the man was on him again. It was almost like their lips had magnets within that kept them finding each other. Eventually Onodera just succumbed and let his superior kiss him senseless.

Thankfully the crazed man did have to pull back for air, so he let the smaller individual go for a moment. That moment was all Onodera needed to push his arms out and keep Takano away from his face while he collected his breath. Had he been a women there was no doubt in Ritsu's mind he would have slapped the older man. As it was he couldn't even look the man in the eye, so he kept his gaze trained on the floor.

"What has gotten into you!" He snarled once his breathing regulated.

"Who sent the flowers, Ritsu?" Takano asked, equally flushed.

"You!"

"I did not. I think I would remember calling a flower shop and having them deliver a bunch of roses to you."

"Don't play with me, Takano! This is work and we are supposed to be professional."

"Do I look like I am playing with you, Onodera?"

Ritsu decided to look up and show Takano how angry he was at the breach of ethics that had occurred on more than one occasion in the last twenty minutes. He couldn't find the strength when he looked into the elder's eyes though. The man was obviously telling the truth because there was nothing but sadness in his eyes.

"Then who sent them?" Onodera asked dumbly.

"How in the hell should I know. I don't keep tabs on everyone who comes into this building. That's not my job and I have more than enough to do already. I guess I need to add making sure people keep their hands off you at work to my list of duties." Takano grumbled in annoyance.

Ritsu scoffed, "Are you jealous?"

"How can I not be? Someone is sending love confessions, along with roses, to what is rightfully mine." He answered while waving the little card in front of Onodera's face.

"I am not rightfully anybody's, Takano." Ritsu snapped as he grabbed the card away from Takano and stuck it in his pocket. "Besides, you're supposed to be older than me. Why don't you act like it?"

Takano sighed. "I'd have thought you'd have realized by now that where you are concerned, Ritsu, all of my common sense goes right out the window. If I remember correctly you said something similar once before, where you couldn't think straight when it came to me. Well now the roles are reversed and it takes a lot of energy to be around you and still maintain a modicum of decorum."

Onodera could feel his heart skip a beat and knew that his face was turning a darker shade of pastel than before. How this man, who he insisted he didn't love, could turn his insides to mush with just a sentence was beyond him. He hated how no matter how much time had passed it was still the same with him. It took a lot of energy for Ritsu to function in a normal capacity around Takano too.

The older man pulled the younger in for a hug and a chaste kiss before releasing the elevator. Both men, completely composed (at least on the outside) stepped outside of the elevator one after the other. Ritsu hurried back to his desk while Takano made a comment he vaguely heard to someone about getting maintenance up to fix the elevator as it seems to be busted somewhere.

As Ritsu rounded the corner Kisa give him a sly smile.

"You two were gone quite a while. Anything you want to share with us Ri-chan?" The over-educated-donkey-of-a-man asked with a smirk.

Ritsu just blushed and sat down, trying to avoid any eye contact with all of his co-workers. Takano waltzed in and sat down as if nothing happened. So went the remainder of the hour.

During the second hour a man from the mail room came to deliver a package. He handed the box to Hatori and turned to leave. Then he noticed the flowers.

"Didn't you like the flowers, Kisa-san? Or wait, I put them on the wrong desk!" The man started to blubber an apology. "I am sorry Kisa-san, those roses are for you, I am sorry if I put them on the wrong desk." He bowed and ran out to finish his deliveries.

At this news everyone in the area looked at one Kisa Shota with wide eyes. Kisa blushed and wanted to sink down in his desk. He realized rather quickly that he was in for one hell of a ride, especially when he looked at Ri-chan and saw an almost evil glint in the younger man's eyes as he handed the flowers over.

"So, Kisa-san, do you know who they're from, or do you have a secret admirer?"


End file.
